Artquilts, Artists, Quiltshows and much more

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Festival of Quilts part 2

I still have some quilts of the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham (GB) to show you. Enjoy the creativity and the sewing skills of the artists.

“Box Section” by Helen Butcher (Great Britain) is foundation pieced after her own pattern.

Artist’s statement: Optical illusion and 3D images have always fascinated me. I enjoy designing my own foundation piecing block and find that the accuracy achievable from this patchwork method is the best way to fool the eye.

The “Frog” by Bara Bartosova (Czech Republic) was hand painted on silk and then heavy machine quilted. Do you see the quilted frogs in the white background?

“I … Reflection of Life” by Olga Gonzalez-Angulo (Spain)

Artist’s statement: This quilt is my reflection in the water, my thoughts, my life, thinking that life is a moment, like reflection in the water. The bottom is made in different appliqué techniques, the reflection is a work in organza, representing water.

“What a Shambles” by Greta and Mike Fitchett (England) is fused, machine satin stitched around the edges and machine quilted.

Artists’ statement: Created in the style of a vintage railway poster with solid blocks of colour. Designed by Mike from his location sketch in York. He reworked his sketch into a paper collage and used this to prepare the full size plan of the quilt. Appliqué assembled by Mike, stitching by Greta.

For “The Photographer” by Constanze Bötel and Britta Beutnagel (Germany) the photo by Britta was printed on cotton, an acrylic and a cotton batting (yes – 2 battings) and a cotton backing were added and then everything was quilted.

Artist’s statement: My niece and I always wanted to make an art project together. When I saw the photograph Britta took of my 92-year-old father, I knew this would become our collaborative design. On the quilt you can see an old man looking through a camera. Photography was my father’s passion.

Artist’s statement: Visiting the Gambia for over 20 years the spirit, colours and images of the country are the inspiration for this original quilt. The images are specific to the Gambia – wrestling, the Arch Banjul, pounding cous, hippos, crocodiles, playing the djembe drum. The quilting by Barbara Paton features original African designs.

“She’s a Wildflower” by Joanna Wilczynska (Germany) combines raw edge appliqué, textile painting and free motion quilting in a perfect way. The quilt is inspired by a graphic of Gracjana Zielinska (used with permission of the artist).

For “Gateway” Hilary Beattie (England) transferred her own photo to fabric, machine quilted and machine embroidered it and then enhanced the design with pencil and crayon.

Artist’s statement: I love the coast – it is a place of peace and restoration for me. this view, of the entry to Saltfleetby beach never fails to make my heart beat a little faster. I have now left that area, but with this piece I can always recall that magical ‘gateway’ to a personal sanctuary.

“Repaired Patched Remade” by Catherine Brierley (England) is machine pieced using the freezer paper foundation technique and using old bed linen.

Artist’s statement: A light hearted look at recycling, suggesting regrowth of grasses, shrubs and trees with branches offering shade and protection. Four pieces of discarded bed linen – well-worn and repaired, patched together and remade into a bed quilt, with which to remake the bed.

Another one of Helen Godden’s (Australia) wonderful quilts called “Rainbow Lorikeet”. Helen hand painted with acrylic fabric paint and free-motion quilted the piece – “extrem quilting” as she calls it – in different colors.

Artist’s statement: The Rainbow Lorikeet soars swiftly and with grace through tree tops, like a colourful dart. The bright primary colours of this Australian parrot are captured in detail, painted on the stunning white sateen, surrounded by a burst of rainbow graded stitching celebrating his beautiful colours.

“The Wapley Hill Tree in Winter” by Maggie Farmer (England) is first fused and then machine appliquéd, hand quilted and beaded.

Artist’s statement: A few miles from my home in Herefordshire is a hill topped with an iron age fort. On the lower slopes is a distinctive tree growing on a low mound. My quilt is a representation of the tree in winter with ice cristals in the air.

“Geisha” is another quilt by Bara Bartosova (Czech Republic) and was inspired by Arthur Golden’s book ‘Geisha’. Bara used hand dyed silk and cotton, commercial cotton, silk, cotton lace and rainbow threads. She painted parts with ink, hand embroidered and quilted by machine. You can see details of this quilt on our Instagram account quiltartnews.

You can always find these funny and wonderfully executed quilts at the Festival of Quilts. “The Dung Beetle” was made by Louise Jessup (England) using free machine embroidery, free machine quilting and appliqué.

And what does the artist’s statement say? Simply “Don’t you all wear hats in the sun?!”

I hope you enjoyed this small selection of quilts from the Festival of Quilts 2016. If you want to see more quilts (and not only of the Festival of Quilts) I have already mentioned above that there is now an Instagram account quiltartnews. Check it out and follow us – we will show you marvellous quilts, often with detail shots and give you useful information. Hope to meet you at quiltartnews on Instagram!

Merken

Merken

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About me

Hi, I'm Gabi and I live in Vienna, Austria in the middle of Europe.
Quiltartnews is all about my adventures in patchwork and quilting as well as glimpses into my life and the occasional travel photos.
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Contact: gabi@quiltartnews.com